Chapter 377 A Desperate Struggle

On the other side, Wang Muran also came charging at flying speed, gathering qi into a net and casting it over the tiny Lord Dragon Keeper—only to be knocked aside by a bang from Lord Dragon Keeper. Long Yu stood up on one leg, leaped to Mu Qingdai's side, and joined forces with Shen Mu and the others to attack Lord Dragon Keeper. "His body is too small—hard to hit. Shrink yourselves!" Shen Mu shouted. Mu Qingdai activated the mystic art within the Daoqi Jiayan Art, and her body immediately shrank, becoming a little girl a foot tall with long flowing hair trailing behind her. On the other side, Wang Muran also shrank his body, becoming a tiny dot. Only Long Yu had never cultivated such techniques, so he could only stand on one leg, cautiously on guard. His Heavenly Eye and Sword Heart were pushed to their full power, sword light shooting from his eyes, tracking the movements of the four little figures. But though his sword-eye was fast, it still struggled to catch Lord Dragon Keeper's tiny form. He could only see four tiny dots darting frantically through the air, flashing and vanishing to and fro. "Too fast... this is bad!" Long Yu saw Lord Dragon Keeper attacking him and hastily hopped up on one leg. The instant he jumped, he heard a crisp crack. He looked down and saw his other leg bone bent at an impossible angle. He thought to himself, This is bad. Thud. Long Yu dropped to his knees, nearly fainting from the pain. Lord Dragon Keeper's form appeared behind his head, his toe pointed at the back of Long Yu's skull. If it connected, his head would surely be kicked to bursting! But at that moment, the three-inch Sorrowless Sword flashed past, piercing through Lord Dragon Keeper's foot. The kick missed. Long Yu breathed a sigh of relief, then ruthlessly twisted his neck backward, his head turning directly behind him. Sword light burst from both his eyes, stabbing into Lord Dragon Keeper, sending him flying! "I did my best!" Long Yu nearly twisted his neck clean off. He cried out, then collapsed to the ground. Lord Dragon Keeper flew backward, his feet stepping rapidly through the air, treading on emptiness to disperse the power of those two sword strikes. He was a blood-born body with no dharma power, relying solely on his formidable physical body to contend with Shen Mu and the others. Moreover, the depletion of his divine blood was alarming, forcing him to use physical divine techniques to seize victory. Suddenly, a massive dark shadow appeared at the hall's entrance. The great deer, its body studded with flying swords, clambered to its feet. It shook its head, and its antlers flew off—a small branch stabbing viciously into Lord Dragon Keeper's back, piercing his heart. Lord Dragon Keeper's body exploded. In an instant, countless blood spheres rolled about and transformed back into a tiny Lord Dragon Keeper—only smaller than before. He leaped from the antler and landed on the great deer's bare crown, smashing down with a fist, about to split the great deer's skull open. Shen Mu thrust his sword at him. Lord Dragon Keeper dodged the strike—but then three tiny figures landed one after another on the deer's head. The great deer blinked, terror in its eyes. The four tiny figures darted back and forth across its body, trading blows, shaking it so hard its bones crackled and popped, as if about to break apart. "Yooo—yooo—" The great deer cried out in alarm and hastily charged toward the Dragon Qilin crouching in a corner of the great hall, trying to redirect the calamity onto it. The Dragon Qilin also had a dozen or so flying swords stuck in its body, but its sinews and bones were weak and sore, and it held a natural dread of Lord Dragon Keeper. It remained utterly motionless. The other wyrms also lay prostrate beside it—a few had been struck by swords as well, but all lay there, not daring to move. Fortunately, the Dragon Qilin had thick hide and ample flesh, covered in fat. Though it had taken a dozen flying swords, it was not seriously harmed. "Don't... come over here..." the Dragon Qilin moaned weakly. The great deer was about to reach it when suddenly crack-crack sounds came from its body. The stag's body twisted, its four limbs snapped, and it crashed to the ground, sliding forward. The Dragon Qilin mustered all its strength to turn its body around and crawled with all its might, trying to get away from the great deer. The other wyrms likewise pressed themselves flat against the ground, struggling to crawl to one side. The sense of intimidation Lord Dragon Keeper inspired was simply too overwhelming—it left them without the slightest will to resist. Suddenly, Mu Qingdai came flying through the air, spitting blood, and crashed into the Dragon Qilin, which was still struggling to crawl. She fell unconscious. Lord Dragon Keeper charged over, intent on taking Mu Qingdai's life. The Dragon Qilin went completely limp, paralyzed on the ground. Shen Mu bellowed, seized the Sorrowless Sword, and cried out fiercely, "Brother Muran!" Wang Muran spat blood, mustered his strength to lift Shen Mu up and hurl him forward. Shen Mu's feet tapped rapidly, and he shot out like lightning. The three-inch sword in his hand erupted with sword light—a miniature landscape of green mountains and blue waters surged forth from the sword light, arriving after but striking first, drowning Lord Dragon Keeper! Ding-ding-ding—the explosive ringing came without cease. The Sword-Treading Rivers and Mountains technique abruptly collapsed and disintegrated, leaving only Shen Mu's figure, sword in hand, hurling himself forward. Lord Dragon Keeper's body had grown even smaller. Beneath his feet was all corrupted blood. His fingers and palms flicked and slapped repeatedly, striking the Sorrowless Sword. Shen Mu's body shook violently, blood spilling continuously from his mouth. Suddenly he transformed into a black shadow clinging to the ground, skimming along its surface—but Lord Dragon Keeper punched the black shadow, forcing him out of his shadow state and sending him sprawling face-down. Wang Muran let out a fierce cry, hair flying, and rushed over. The two tiny figures fought furiously. In a flash of lightning, the sound of snapping bones rang out, and Wang Muran was sent tumbling backward. Shen Mu lay on the ground, summoning his last ounce of strength to raise the sword and drive it down. The Lord Dragon Keeper, now three fingers tall, clasped both hands together, caught the Sorrowless Sword, and strained against it with all his might. Shen Mu's sword could not be driven down any further. He roared, "Fat Dragon, do you still want to eat? If I die, you can just wait to starve to death!" The Dragon Qilin's eyes were filled with terror. It stared blankly at the tiny Lord Dragon Keeper. Hearing these words, it suddenly let out a great roar, raised its claw, and slammed it down hard on the sword hilt. Chi. The sword light pierced through Lord Dragon Keeper. The three-finger-tall Lord Dragon Keeper split into two halves. The blood still writhed, trying to flow back together. The Dragon Qilin roared again, and dharma power erupted, surging into the sword body. In an instant, the sword light blazed, stabbing in all directions. Patches of corrupted blood withered and fell to the ground. Shen Mu stared blankly. The power within his body receded like the tide. His grip on the sword hilt loosened, and he fell back. The Dragon Qilin roared again and again. It raised its claw to strike once more, but Shen Mu said weakly, "Don't hit it... hit it again and you'll kill me too..." He coughed violently. His dharma power was exhausted as well. His physical body gradually grew back to normal size. He wanted to crawl up and heal his wounds, but he could not move. The Dragon Qilin clambered to its feet and stared blankly at the bloodstains on the ground. Then it looked around. It saw that the incomparably powerful wyrms beside it did not dare meet its gaze, their eyes filled with dread, and one after an